N. Korea ambassador recalled from Malaysia: report

North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, a relative of leader Kim Jong-Un, has been recalled just days after the leader's uncle was apparently ousted in a leadership purge, according to a report.

Earlier this week, the South's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a parliamentary committee it believes Mr Kim's uncle and political regent, Jang Song-Thaek, had been removed and two associates executed.

Now Mr Jang's nephew, Jang Yong-Chol, the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia, is believed to have been called back to Pyongyang, an intelligence source in Bejing told Yonhap news agency.

The ambassador's wife and two sons were spotted in China's northeastern city of Shenyang on Thursday before boarding an Air Koryo flight to Pyongyang, Yonhap said, citing multiple witnesses.

It said the ambassador was believed to have been recalled earlier.

Jang Song-Thaek's apparent dismissal is particularly noteworthy given the crucial role he was seen as having played in securing Mr Kim's own succession, after his father Kim Jong-Il's death.

The NIS assessment triggered a wave of conjecture as to why the young leader had turned on his uncle, who helped put him on the throne, and what it said about his grip on power.

However, the NIS report was only an assessment, and the main question regarding Mr Jang's dismissal is still whether it actually happened or not.